Cultured,
polished and yet vibrant guitar-pop from West Sussex! The Shining Hour can
hold their heads up high because they display on this debut LP a natural
talent to write accomplished songs with urgency, good old fashioned clipped
guitar strumming and hooks aplenty combining to create a strange but beautiful
sound conjuring up images of The Farmers Boys, REM and The Beach Boys. Noble.

I
get the impression that Mark Cohen has hundreds of grand, sweet pop songs
in his head, if not his basement, so the four on this Apricot single may
not add much to the fifteen on Wait All Summer, but if the hand-writing
is to be believed, my copy of this 800-count limited edition is number 666.
The Satanic hidden message so far eludes me. 33, in a bewitching mango.

Mind
The Gap mail order

Mark
Cohen is the second main guy in Fragile, but Shining Hour is much more than
a project - "I won't be home" has all you can achieve on 8-track which is
classic Postcard guitars, beautiful synthesized strings and ace crooner
vocals - three more excellent guitar-pop-songs complete this perfect Apricot
release.

British
pop music with strings and in the style of the 80s. On sky-blue vinyl and
in a limited edition of 800. Dreamily beautiful melodies!!!

WAIT
ALL SUMMER (apricot recordsapricd003)

Apricot
Promotional Statement

The
Shining Hour is more than a project by Mark Cohen, a member of the UK band
Fragile. The Shining Hour combine the tradition of c-86 wimp P!O!P! with
love for classic songwriting and the fascination for 8-track recording -
classic postcard guitar, crooning vocals, ace melodies, brilliants strings
and superb arrangements. Songs full of longing, sensitivity and romance;
music that first hits your heart and then your soul! Sophisticated, heartbreaking
lyrics that fit perfectly with unpretentious melodies. Imagine the beauty
and loneliness of The Smiths, the jangling guitar of The Brilliant Corners
and words like in songs of Hefner. This album follows the classic 7" E.P.
Five O'clock Rise which was released on Apricot Records and was sold out
in weeks. Music that first hits your head and then the heart! Sophisticated,
heartbreaking vocals combined with wonderful guitar melodies.

The
liner notes claim that Mark Cohen, whose one-man band the Shining Hour is,
wrote and recorded 167 songs between 1986 and 1998, which makes it not too
surprising that the fifteen chosen to represent him on this album from the
German pop label Apricot spin off in a variety of directions, albeit related
ones. On one song he sounds like a young Paul Weller fronting St. Christopher,
and the next he could be Mark Hollis making a guest appearance with the
Magnetic Fields. One sounds like a Smiths demo, the next like a Byrds/Who
pastiche, the next like the Icicle Works with a head cold. A couple could
be Orchids or Field Mice songs, a couple sound more like the Pet Shop Boys
remixing Nick Drake. Some undulate, some sparkle. Some drift, some skitter.
Cross Aztec Camera and the Housemartins, or Tobin Sprout and Orange Juice.
If I move on a little too quickly, hardly giving this album a fair chance
to enthrall me as thoroughly as it well might, it's just because 152 more
songs like these is enough material to make Cohen into a patient, sober,
sentimental Robert Pollard, and the prospect pushes me disconcertingly close
to panic.

The
Shining Hour is Mark Cohen, who has been recording since the mid 80s. Amazingly,
I've only recently discovered his music - a shame as I've probably missed
out on loads of great songs. The music is excellent jangly indiepop in the
mid 80s to early 90s tradition, complete with lyrics that deal with unrequited
love and being misunderstood - the sort of lyrics that narrow minded people
wrongly class as wimpy, but in actual fact you have to be very strong to
expose your feelings so honestly.

English
bedroom songwriter - pearls between The Smiths and Nick Drake. One of the
best releases on the remarkable Apricot label. I can say whoever liked the
Fragile and Shining Hour 7 inch singles will not regret the purchase of
this album. Wonderfully sentimental pop songs for your heart and soul. Are
you ready to be heart broken?

POSTCARDS
FROM HOME (apricot recordsapricd018)

Apricot
Promotional Statement

It
was the first warm day of the year; a long winter came to an end. We were
happy to feel some warmth and see the first signs of Springtime. I walked
down the few steps to the mailbox, joyful thoughts about a breakfast outside
on the porch in my mind. When I opened the mailbox I found a postcard inside.
It was from Mark; we had not seen each other in a long time and I was curious
about his life and his experiences in the past year. He was writing about
the wintertime in England. About days spent inside, listening to music and
reading books. On the next day I was surprised to receive a postcard from
Mark again; it contained a short story about a girl he had met in a small
grocery-store. This went on for another 10 days; I obtained 12 postcards
in total - and when I took the 12th card out of the mailbox I discovered
a small parcel with a CD in it. In the accompanying letter Mark explained
that he had recorded 12 songs - songs about love and loneliness, about hope
and despair, about faithfulness and tears. 12 songs about his winter in
Worthing, England, 12 songs so typically for The Shining Hour. P!O!P!-songs
from Mark's bedroom - jangling guitars, soft vocals, tunes so soft as a
piece of chocolate-cake. Mark is one of the these British songwriters being
dedicated to music and music only. Think of Nick Drake, Ben Watt or Bill
Pritchard. His music is strongly influenced by the spirit of c86; bands
like McCarthy, The June Brides and The Railway Children will come to mind.
The Shining Hour - as English as the weather. I haven't received a postcard
from Mark in a while now. But I'm sure he'll write back if you send him
a card. Or you'll listen to his 12 Postcards From Home.

RADIO/TV
BROADCASTSIf
you hear any songs on your local station, I would be delighted to hear from
you. Thanks.